π‘ An AI That Convinces Half of People It's Human
Tavus builds conversational AI avatars. Their new Griffin-Lite just posted a striking number: 26 out of 54 participants finished a one-minute video call believing they'd spoken to a real person. The previous system convinced one out of 41.
Caveat: participants were told they'd meet another human β no one mentioned a bot. Results are self-reported and unverified. On NVIDIA's VideoFDB benchmark, Griffin-Lite ranks first: 3.83 versus 2.80 for the next-best system.
The model isn't public yet β Tavus is still building safety measures. When the creators themselves won't ship it, that tells you more than any press release. Especially given that North Korea-linked hackers were already running deepfake video calls β with far cruder tools.
Decrypt
Tavus builds conversational AI avatars. Their new Griffin-Lite just posted a striking number: 26 out of 54 participants finished a one-minute video call believing they'd spoken to a real person. The previous system convinced one out of 41.
Caveat: participants were told they'd meet another human β no one mentioned a bot. Results are self-reported and unverified. On NVIDIA's VideoFDB benchmark, Griffin-Lite ranks first: 3.83 versus 2.80 for the next-best system.
The model isn't public yet β Tavus is still building safety measures. When the creators themselves won't ship it, that tells you more than any press release. Especially given that North Korea-linked hackers were already running deepfake video calls β with far cruder tools.
Decrypt
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π¬ Nine million Brits watched celebrities betray each other
*Celebrity Traitors* β BBC's reality show where a hidden faction schemes against teammates trying to unmask them β just set a franchise record: 8.8 million viewers at premiere, peaking at 9 million. Every second person watching TV in Britain that evening was watching this.
That's ~3 million more than either previous U.K. launch. Richard E. Grant, Bella Ramsey, Michael Sheen and James Blunt are among this season's castle dwellers β and Grant has apparently turned episode one into his personal chaos workshop, per Variety.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwCCPWdNC9U
*Celebrity Traitors* β BBC's reality show where a hidden faction schemes against teammates trying to unmask them β just set a franchise record: 8.8 million viewers at premiere, peaking at 9 million. Every second person watching TV in Britain that evening was watching this.
That's ~3 million more than either previous U.K. launch. Richard E. Grant, Bella Ramsey, Michael Sheen and James Blunt are among this season's castle dwellers β and Grant has apparently turned episode one into his personal chaos workshop, per Variety.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwCCPWdNC9U
YouTube
The Traitors | Season 2 | Official Trailer | Peacock Original
Season 2 of The Traitors is streaming January 12 on Peacock, plus catch up on Season 1 streaming now: https://pck.tv/3kamGQX
Synopsis: The Traitors is a nail-biting psychological adventure in which treachery and deceit are the name of the game. Entertainmentβsβ¦
Synopsis: The Traitors is a nail-biting psychological adventure in which treachery and deceit are the name of the game. Entertainmentβsβ¦
β€2
π¬ Four attempts. One finally works.
Brian De Palma's 1976 *Carrie* remains the gold standard. Three revivals β 1999, 2002, 2013 β all failed. Now Mike Flanagan (*Gerald's Game*, *Doctor Sleep*) brings an eight-episode series to Prime Video in 2026, and it actually holds up.
He remixes rather than retells: Carrie enters high school as the new girl for the first time in any version, and Margaret White becomes a crusader against an anonymous Instagram account targeting her daughter. Samantha Sloyan, a Flanagan regular, owns every scene she's in.
After three misfires, the fourth attempt counts.
Collider
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkUw2nh6fT0
Brian De Palma's 1976 *Carrie* remains the gold standard. Three revivals β 1999, 2002, 2013 β all failed. Now Mike Flanagan (*Gerald's Game*, *Doctor Sleep*) brings an eight-episode series to Prime Video in 2026, and it actually holds up.
He remixes rather than retells: Carrie enters high school as the new girl for the first time in any version, and Margaret White becomes a crusader against an anonymous Instagram account targeting her daughter. Samantha Sloyan, a Flanagan regular, owns every scene she's in.
After three misfires, the fourth attempt counts.
Collider
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkUw2nh6fT0
YouTube
Carrie β Official Trailer | Prime Video
If you think you know her story, youβre dead wrong. Carrie, a new series from Mike Flanagan, based on Stephen Kingβs iconic debut novel arrives October 7 on Prime Video.
About Prime Video:
Want to watch it now? Weβve got it. This weekβs newest movies, lastβ¦
About Prime Video:
Want to watch it now? Weβve got it. This weekβs newest movies, lastβ¦
β€3π±1
π¬ Disney+ is raising prices for the fourth time in four years
Netflix makes originals, Apple TV+ wins awards, Hulu has The Bear and Shogun. Disney+ is mostly running on Marvel, Star Wars, and nostalgia. The ad-supported bundle at
Raising prices while subscribers cut back on everything else is a bet that habit beats a calculator. Sometimes it does. It's still a risky bet.
Someone in your group chat thinks streaming killed the cable bill. Show them the math.
Collider
$6.99 in 2019, $21.49 in 2026 β 207% in seven years. Disney+ and Hulu are hiking again, and the real question is what you're getting for it.Netflix makes originals, Apple TV+ wins awards, Hulu has The Bear and Shogun. Disney+ is mostly running on Marvel, Star Wars, and nostalgia. The ad-supported bundle at
$12.49 is the only offer that feels honest.Raising prices while subscribers cut back on everything else is a bet that habit beats a calculator. Sometimes it does. It's still a risky bet.
Someone in your group chat thinks streaming killed the cable bill. Show them the math.
Collider
β€2
π Daily Recap Β· Oct 04
π€ AI fools half of callers into thinking it's human
π‘οΈ Nine million Brits glued to celebrity backstabbing TV
π©Έ Mike Flanagan finally makes a Carrie adaptation worth watching
πΈ Disney+ costs 207% more than it did in 2019
Somebody near you was heads-down all day β this is their five-second catch-up
CHEATKOTT - Your Daily News
π€ AI fools half of callers into thinking it's human
π‘οΈ Nine million Brits glued to celebrity backstabbing TV
π©Έ Mike Flanagan finally makes a Carrie adaptation worth watching
πΈ Disney+ costs 207% more than it did in 2019
Somebody near you was heads-down all day β this is their five-second catch-up
CHEATKOTT - Your Daily News
β€2π1
π¬ Elizabeth Holmes let them in β 34 days before prison
Holmes founded Theranos, once valued at $9 billion, on a blood-testing technology that didn't work. Convicted of fraud in 2022, she's now serving an 11-year sentence.
Before it started, she let Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim film her at home. Seven crew members, three cameras, 16-hour days. One wide lens to cover the whole house; two
Fielder meant to stay behind the camera. Holmes kept talking to him anyway, so the operators kept panning over. Accidental subject.
"The face is the ultimate landscape," Oppenheim said. When you're trying to decide if someone is telling the truth β and she's a month from prison β that framing earns its keep. Variety has the story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvW_N5p1q44
Holmes founded Theranos, once valued at $9 billion, on a blood-testing technology that didn't work. Convicted of fraud in 2022, she's now serving an 11-year sentence.
Before it started, she let Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim film her at home. Seven crew members, three cameras, 16-hour days. One wide lens to cover the whole house; two
25β250mm zooms locked on faces. A 4:3 aspect ratio β classic reality-TV throwback β to catch every reaction the moment something landed.Fielder meant to stay behind the camera. Holmes kept talking to him anyway, so the operators kept panning over. Accidental subject.
"The face is the ultimate landscape," Oppenheim said. When you're trying to decide if someone is telling the truth β and she's a month from prison β that framing earns its keep. Variety has the story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvW_N5p1q44
YouTube
You Can See Everything | Official Trailer HD | A24
SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/A24subscribe
A documentary by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim. YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING β In theaters October 16.
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ABOUT A24:
The studio behind EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, UNCUT GEMS, MIDSOMMAR, MOONLIGHT, BEEF onβ¦
A documentary by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim. YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING β In theaters October 16.
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ABOUT A24:
The studio behind EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, UNCUT GEMS, MIDSOMMAR, MOONLIGHT, BEEF onβ¦
β€1
πΈ The $300 million hair-dryer heist
US export controls made NVIDIA's AI chips so valuable in China that an entire smuggling industry grew up around them. Officials now say NVIDIA had chances to notice β and didn't.
Federal prosecutors arrested Greg Lui for moving servers with $300M in restricted chips to China. Bloomberg reports it's part of a
NVIDIA disputes any negligence. CEO Jensen Huang declined Congress's invitation to testify; Senator Warren's reply was short: "If he has time for a $1M-a-head dinner at Mar-a-Lago, he can find time for us."
The hair dryer is still plugged in.
Engadget
US export controls made NVIDIA's AI chips so valuable in China that an entire smuggling industry grew up around them. Officials now say NVIDIA had chances to notice β and didn't.
Federal prosecutors arrested Greg Lui for moving servers with $300M in restricted chips to China. Bloomberg reports it's part of a
$2.5B scheme: Super Micro co-founder "Wally" Liaw allegedly sold servers to a Bangkok front company, ostensibly for Thailand β they went straight to China, serial numbers stripped with a red hair dryer.NVIDIA disputes any negligence. CEO Jensen Huang declined Congress's invitation to testify; Senator Warren's reply was short: "If he has time for a $1M-a-head dinner at Mar-a-Lago, he can find time for us."
The hair dryer is still plugged in.
Engadget
β€2π2
πΈ Trump's third meme coin dinner
On November 22, the top 185 holders of
πΈ Top 29 β VIP reception with the president
πΈ Top 4 β an 18-karat gold Trump watch
πΈ Private meeting β not on offer for anyone
The timing stings a little. Two weeks ago, the Clarity Act β crypto's big legislative push β failed in the Senate, with Trump's personal holdings the main sticking point. His latest disclosure shows he earned over $635 million from the coin in 2025, almost entirely in royalties. The coin itself trades around
Via Decrypt.
On November 22, the top 185 holders of
TRUMP will gather for a gala dinner with President Trump at his Virginia golf club β the same venue as the first dinner in May, where VIP guests averaged $4.8 million spent on tokens and Trump stayed about an hour.πΈ Top 29 β VIP reception with the president
πΈ Top 4 β an 18-karat gold Trump watch
πΈ Private meeting β not on offer for anyone
The timing stings a little. Two weeks ago, the Clarity Act β crypto's big legislative push β failed in the Senate, with Trump's personal holdings the main sticking point. His latest disclosure shows he earned over $635 million from the coin in 2025, almost entirely in royalties. The coin itself trades around
$2.04, down 97% since launch. Someone's paying more for that dinner than the menu suggests.Via Decrypt.
β€2π1
βοΈ California legalized balcony solar β with a catch
Governor Newsom signed the Plug and Play Solar Act on September 30th; it takes effect January 2027. The idea: renters finally get a cheap, self-installed path to lower electricity bills.
The catch is UL3700 certification β which requires a non-standard plug and socket, often meaning a licensed electrician. Not exactly plug-and-play. Certified products are limited to a handful: Hoymiles, APsystems, Mango. Power cap sits at
Utilities PG&E and SDG&E opposed the bill and are already hinting at passing costs to non-solar customers. Solidarity.
Via The Verge.
Engadget
Governor Newsom signed the Plug and Play Solar Act on September 30th; it takes effect January 2027. The idea: renters finally get a cheap, self-installed path to lower electricity bills.
The catch is UL3700 certification β which requires a non-standard plug and socket, often meaning a licensed electrician. Not exactly plug-and-play. Certified products are limited to a handful: Hoymiles, APsystems, Mango. Power cap sits at
1,200W, well below a rooftop system's 6,000W+.Utilities PG&E and SDG&E opposed the bill and are already hinting at passing costs to non-solar customers. Solidarity.
Via The Verge.
Engadget
β€4π1
π Daily Recap Β· Oct 05
π¬ Holmes let cameras in 34 days before prison
πΈ Man smuggled $300M in AI chips through hair-dryer loophole
π½οΈ Trump's third meme coin dinner already has 185 guests
βοΈ California okayed balcony solar β but the plug doesn't exist yet
Tag whoever was heads-down today β they missed a weird one
CHEATKOTT - Your Daily News
π¬ Holmes let cameras in 34 days before prison
πΈ Man smuggled $300M in AI chips through hair-dryer loophole
π½οΈ Trump's third meme coin dinner already has 185 guests
βοΈ California okayed balcony solar β but the plug doesn't exist yet
Tag whoever was heads-down today β they missed a weird one
CHEATKOTT - Your Daily News
β€2π1
πΈ Operation KillSwitch
KillSec is a ransomware group active since 2024, running a double-extortion scheme: encrypt the servers, then threaten to leak the data anyway β even if the victim had backups. Around 1,000 suspected attacks globally, ~500 confirmed successful.
On September 30, a coordinated sweep across Europe and the U.S. brought it down. The suspected administrator: a 16-year-old Romanian national, arrested in Alicante. Two more in their twenties picked up in Britain and Romania. Dutch national Fouad Eltibrizi, living in the UK as *Archduke*, was indicted in Puerto Rico β up to 10 years if convicted.
Seized: five servers, the dark-web leak site, and 110 TB of stolen data. Investigators also found the group had used AI to build its infrastructure and scout new targets.
A teenager ran the operation. AI helped him find the next victim. Europol has the details.
Decrypt
KillSec is a ransomware group active since 2024, running a double-extortion scheme: encrypt the servers, then threaten to leak the data anyway β even if the victim had backups. Around 1,000 suspected attacks globally, ~500 confirmed successful.
On September 30, a coordinated sweep across Europe and the U.S. brought it down. The suspected administrator: a 16-year-old Romanian national, arrested in Alicante. Two more in their twenties picked up in Britain and Romania. Dutch national Fouad Eltibrizi, living in the UK as *Archduke*, was indicted in Puerto Rico β up to 10 years if convicted.
Seized: five servers, the dark-web leak site, and 110 TB of stolen data. Investigators also found the group had used AI to build its infrastructure and scout new targets.
A teenager ran the operation. AI helped him find the next victim. Europol has the details.
Decrypt
β€1π1
π¦Ύ The exoskeleton has left the cinema
Powered exoskeletons spent decades as a Hollywood prop. The real thing arrived quieter β and went straight to IKEA warehouses, Ford assembly lines, and Ukrainian front-line positions.
In early 2026, Ukrainian soldiers were confirmed to be using Hypershell exoskeletons to carry artillery shells. "Less fatigued, work faster, maintain combat effectiveness for longer," Colonel Serdiuk told *Ukrainska Pravda*. Seattle Mountain Rescue is field-testing similar devices in the wilderness; Boeing and Ford have them on assembly lines.
The sector sits at around $500 million today, with a two-to-threefold jump projected by the mid-2030s.
Science fiction's favourite gadget showed up β and its first job was moving pallets.
Ars Technica
Powered exoskeletons spent decades as a Hollywood prop. The real thing arrived quieter β and went straight to IKEA warehouses, Ford assembly lines, and Ukrainian front-line positions.
In early 2026, Ukrainian soldiers were confirmed to be using Hypershell exoskeletons to carry artillery shells. "Less fatigued, work faster, maintain combat effectiveness for longer," Colonel Serdiuk told *Ukrainska Pravda*. Seattle Mountain Rescue is field-testing similar devices in the wilderness; Boeing and Ford have them on assembly lines.
The sector sits at around $500 million today, with a two-to-threefold jump projected by the mid-2030s.
Science fiction's favourite gadget showed up β and its first job was moving pallets.
Ars Technica
β€1
π¬ Tom Cruise, meet the box office floor
Warner Bros. bet on a seemingly foolproof combo β Cruise plus IΓ±Γ‘rritu ("Birdman," "The Revenant") β and got $8M on a $160β180M budget. The film needed ~$40M opening weekend just to justify its cost. A "decide for yourself" ad campaign and claims that only Americans disliked it didn't help; $12M from 73 international markets confirmed it wasn't a cultural misunderstanding.
Projected losses: $150β200M, with Cruise contractually paid before Warner recoups a cent β one week before the Paramount acquisition closes.
First place: "Verity," Amazon MGM's Colleen Hoover adaptation with Hathaway and Dakota Johnson β $32.6M on a $40M budget, 34% on Rotten Tomatoes. Per Variety, Tom Cruise lost the weekend to a pregnant Anne Hathaway. You couldn't write it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nxLG_PFlFo
Warner Bros. bet on a seemingly foolproof combo β Cruise plus IΓ±Γ‘rritu ("Birdman," "The Revenant") β and got $8M on a $160β180M budget. The film needed ~$40M opening weekend just to justify its cost. A "decide for yourself" ad campaign and claims that only Americans disliked it didn't help; $12M from 73 international markets confirmed it wasn't a cultural misunderstanding.
Projected losses: $150β200M, with Cruise contractually paid before Warner recoups a cent β one week before the Paramount acquisition closes.
First place: "Verity," Amazon MGM's Colleen Hoover adaptation with Hathaway and Dakota Johnson β $32.6M on a $40M budget, 34% on Rotten Tomatoes. Per Variety, Tom Cruise lost the weekend to a pregnant Anne Hathaway. You couldn't write it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nxLG_PFlFo
YouTube
DIGGER | Official Trailer
Digg. Or Die. DIGGER. Only in theaters October 2. #Diggermovie
Academy Award winner Tom Cruise stars in Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alejandro G. IΓ±Γ‘rrituβs original film βDigger,β from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures.
The most powerfulβ¦
Academy Award winner Tom Cruise stars in Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alejandro G. IΓ±Γ‘rrituβs original film βDigger,β from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures.
The most powerfulβ¦